I (pronoun)

I (pronoun)

"I" (IPAEng|aɪ) is the
first-person,
singular
personal pronoun (subject case) in Modern English. It is the person "you" are referring to when you are referring to yourself.

Usage

In orthography, this pronoun is comparable to proper nouns. In most writing "I" is always capitalised. This convention dates from around 1250, a little over a hundred years after the form "i" first developed from the earlier "ic". However, internet slang on comment sites frequently shows a lower-case "i".

The oblique cases of "I" are "me" (object) and "my" (possessive).A first person subjunctive can be used as a circumlocution, to avoid direct criticism in the second person.
* I wouldn't believe all I read. "You shouldn't believe all you read".
* I wouldn't do that [if I were you] . "You shouldn't do that"Compare:
* One wouldn't do that oneself.

Etymology

English "I" originates from Old English (OE) "ic". This transformation from "ic" to "i" had happened by about 1137 in Northern England. Capitalisation of the word began around 1250 to distinguish "I" as a distinct word. Writers of handwritten manuscripts began to use a capital "I" because the lower-case letter was hard to read and sometimes mistaken for part of the previous or succeeding word. This practice continued after the introduction of printing partly because it was already established and partly because it improved readability. "ic" in turn originated from the continuation of Proto-Germanic "ik", and "ek". "ek" was attested in the Elder Futhark inscriptions (in some cases notably showing the variant "eka"; see also ek erilaz). "ik" is assumed to have developed from the unstressed variant of "ek".

Germanic cognates are: Old Frisian "ik", Old Norse "ek" (Danish, Norwegian "jeg"), Old High German "ih" (German "") and Gothic "ik".

The Proto-Germanic root came, in turn, from the Proto Indo-European language (PIE). The reconstructed PIE pronoun is *"egō, egóm", with cognates including
Sanskrit "aham", Hittite "uk", Latin "ego", Greek _gr. ἐγώ "egō" and Old Slavonic "azъ".

The oblique forms are formed from a stem "*me-" (English "me"), the plural from "*wei-" (English "we"), the oblique plural from "*ns-" (English "us").

Tables

See also

* English grammar
* English personal pronouns
* Grammar
* Personal pronouns
* Pronouns
* Self


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Pronoun reversal — is a language abnormality common in the speech of autistic children. Children refer to themselves as he, she, or you, or by their own proper names. Pronoun reversal is closely linked to echolalia. Since autistic children often use echolalic… …   Wikipedia

  • Pronoun — Pro noun, n. [Pref. pro + noun: cf. F. pronom, L. pronomen. See {Noun}.] (Gram.) A word used instead of a noun or name, to avoid the repetition of it. The personal pronouns in English are I, thou or you, he, she, it, we, ye, and they. [1913… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • pronoun — 1520s, from PRO (Cf. pro ) and NOUN (Cf. noun); modeled on M.Fr. pronom, from L. pronomen, from pro in place of + nomen name, noun. A loan translation of Gk. antonymia. Adj. pronomial is recorded from 1640s …   Etymology dictionary

  • pronoun — ► NOUN ▪ a word used instead of a noun to indicate someone or something already mentioned or known, e.g. I, she, this …   English terms dictionary

  • pronoun — [prō′noun΄] n. [altered (infl. by NOUN) < MFr pronom < L pronomen < pro, for + nomen, NOUN] Gram. any of a small class of relationship or signal words that assume the functions of nouns within clauses or phrases while referring to other… …   English World dictionary

  • Pronoun — ExamplesSidebar|35% * I love you. * She turned and stared at them. * That reminds me of something. * Who says so? * Take it or leave it (Impersonal pronoun).In linguistics and grammar, a pronoun is a pro form that substitutes for a (including a… …   Wikipedia

  • Pronoun game — Playing the pronoun game is the act of concealing sexual orientation in conversation by not using a gender specific pronoun for a partner or a lover, which would reveal the sexual orientation of the person speaking. Most often, lesbian, gay, and… …   Wikipedia

  • pronoun — pro|noun [ˈprəunaun US ˈprou ] n [Date: 1400 1500; Origin: pro + noun, on the model of Latin pronomen pronoun , from nomen name ] a word that is used instead of a noun or noun phrase, such as he instead of Peter or the man →↑demonstrative pronoun …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • pronoun — [[t]pro͟ʊnaʊn[/t]] pronouns N COUNT A pronoun is a word that you use to refer to someone or something when you do not need to use a noun, often because the person or thing has been mentioned earlier. Examples are it , she , something , and myself …   English dictionary

  • pronoun — n. a demonstrative; indefinite; interrogative; personal; possessive; reflexive; relative pronoun * * * indefinite interrogative personal possessive reflexive relative pronoun a demonstrative …   Combinatory dictionary

  • pronoun — noun (C) a word that is used instead of a noun or noun phrase, such as he instead of Peter or instead of the man see also: demonstrative pronoun, personal pronoun …   Longman dictionary of contemporary English

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”